Just an afterthought.
The battery did turn out to be the problem.
It tested ok on the bench, but when the Gazelle technicians put it in another bike they encountered exactly the problem I had. It registered full charge but did not supply any power to the motor.
They downloaded new software and that fixed the problem.
The battery also required a new backplate (the part with the LEDs).
Not sure if the two problems were related.
I cannot fault the service I got from Gazelle. They were courteous, patient and genuinely pursued a resolution to the problem.
Just difficult to do it from 400 km away.
One thing I was a bit surprised at was the warranty on the battery. It was a set time (2 years), not a set number of discharges.
Gazelle Orange
Touring on the Gazelle - Day 2 of the trip home
Saturday, May 31, 2014
My Final Analysis
I think it is time to call it a day on this blog.
I have had the Gazelle for 4 years. It has been an interesting experience.
Over the last few months I have also had the opportunity to compare it to a good all-round conventional touring bike.
The verdict.
The Gazelle is a bike built for the city and commuting. In my brief experience in those conditions it was magic.
Unfortunately those are not my conditions. The Gazelle has done over 1500km service since I bought it. The 1500km says it all. I would have expected to ride more than double this each year of ownership, but I struggled. Its weaknesses were longer distances, unsealed roads and remoteness from service backup. When it worked it worked well. But when it did not it was simply a very heavy and ill geared bike with too many compromises that relied on that electric motor.
Don't get me wrong. The problems would not, under different circumstances, have been significant. But given my remoteness from service assistance they were painful. I was left wondering why the motor wasn't engaging too many times. After a couple of particularly gruelling rides without any motor (despite fully charged batteries, properly adjusted sensor and clear indication that the system thought it was working), I developed a definite preference for simpler and more reliable technology.
Probably the single biggest failing of the Gazelle for my use was no manual override of the sensor control system.
So I am sending it to a friend who lives in a city with a Gazelle service centre. I am sure it will provide years of enjoyable and relatively trouble-free electric-assisted commuting.
For me, I will stick to the touring bike for the moment.
I have had the Gazelle for 4 years. It has been an interesting experience.
Over the last few months I have also had the opportunity to compare it to a good all-round conventional touring bike.
The verdict.
The Gazelle is a bike built for the city and commuting. In my brief experience in those conditions it was magic.
Unfortunately those are not my conditions. The Gazelle has done over 1500km service since I bought it. The 1500km says it all. I would have expected to ride more than double this each year of ownership, but I struggled. Its weaknesses were longer distances, unsealed roads and remoteness from service backup. When it worked it worked well. But when it did not it was simply a very heavy and ill geared bike with too many compromises that relied on that electric motor.
Don't get me wrong. The problems would not, under different circumstances, have been significant. But given my remoteness from service assistance they were painful. I was left wondering why the motor wasn't engaging too many times. After a couple of particularly gruelling rides without any motor (despite fully charged batteries, properly adjusted sensor and clear indication that the system thought it was working), I developed a definite preference for simpler and more reliable technology.
Probably the single biggest failing of the Gazelle for my use was no manual override of the sensor control system.
So I am sending it to a friend who lives in a city with a Gazelle service centre. I am sure it will provide years of enjoyable and relatively trouble-free electric-assisted commuting.
For me, I will stick to the touring bike for the moment.
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